Scott, who had previously been a senior member on another Arctic expedition, was chosen to lead a group of 65 men who used the Terra Nova supply ship to guide them on the initial portion of the journey. Because of the name of the ship, Scott's mission has been historically referred to as the Terra Nova Expedition.

Scott was not the only group looking to be the first to reach the South Pole. A Norwegian group with Roald Amundsen at the helm was traveling on the other side of the Arctic down to the South Pole at the same time.

Scott's crew successfully reached the South Pole on January 12, 1912, but were ultimately beaten by Amundsen's crew by over a month. Supplies were low for the trip back north and temperatures were beyond frigid. Scott and his crew did not make it and a search party found Scott's frozen body in November 1912.